


unhappily ever after

by hypnoticlevi



Series: Grindeldore related stuff [2]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Canon Compliant, Good Albus Dumbledore, Grindeldore, Hurt Albus Dumbledore, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Post-Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, lol jk it’s just bitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 05:30:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18088346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypnoticlevi/pseuds/hypnoticlevi
Summary: “Have you ever been in love, Newt?”





	unhappily ever after

“Have you ever been in love, Newt?”  
His voice is soft as he speaks, but he doesn’t look at him: his eyes are focused on the single rose he keeps between his hands. Newt doesn’t know who gave it to him, or when, even if he has a vague idea.  
He doesn’t dare to ask.

‘Yes,’ he wants to answer, but Dumbledore goes on without giving him the chance to respond. His next words feel personal, intimate, as if the professor is simply talking to himself.

“I have, you know? And I still am. In love, I mean.” Newt can almost feel his regret, his pain, and it scares him. It puts their situation into perspective. The ministry has been so... unfair to Dumbledore, expecting him to move against Grindelwald at a given order, without taking anything else into consideration.

It makes Newt angry.

Would they be able to fight the person they care for the most? Would they be strong enough to hurt the person who meant, and still means, the world to them? 

“No matter what happens, I will always lose. There’s no possible scenario in which I come out as winner.” He stops for a moment, just enough to let Newt grasp the implications of what he is saying.

“If I lose our fight, there will be nothing left between Grindelwald and his dreams, and we can’t let this happen. I know we can’t. But if I win...” he flinches. Hard. “If I win then I... how can I keep going, knowing that I ruined his life? How will I be able to sleep at night knowing that while I’m safe and warm in my bed my love is rotting in chains because of me?”

Newt is not a legilimens, and he isn’t the best when it comes to connecting with people, but he can feel the pain radiating from Dumbledore, and it makes him wonder once more how can someone expect so much of him. Because the professor is right. No one would ever be able to keep on living with that realization.

And he... doesn’t have a choice.  
They have to fight, and their duel will end with Dumbledore’s corpse, or Grindelwald behind bars, with his lover’s soul fading with him.

**Author's Note:**

> english is obviously not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes, feel free to point them out and correct me!  
> btw, thank you for reading!  
> comments, kudos and corrections are highly appreciated, but this is my first time writing something in english, so PLEASE don’t criticize me too harshly!


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